Woodlands Church Career Fair big on Jesus and jobs

Published 5:45 pm, Thursday, May 22, 2014

Thousands of job seekers from across the Houston area converged at Woodlands Church Thursday afternoon at the congregation’s fifth annual Career Fair.

This year’s fair offered nearly 100 different employers and an expanded number of tables and meeting space for employers and attendees alike. Kelly Harrison, leader of the job support ministry at the church, said almost everything about the event is bigger.

“If you look around, it’s bigger in terms of the love of Jesus being here, too,” Harrison said. “You may look around and see some long faces but we’re filling them up with God’s hope and love.”

Officials expanded the Career Fair onto a second floor inside the church to accommodate the larger number of employers, which included companies like HEB, Baker Hughes, The Woodlands Township and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, among others. In all, Harrison said the church expected to see about 2,000 job seekers throughout the day.

Daniel Allinger, director of human resource global workforce administration at Baker Hughes, said he was impressed not only with how well the event was organized but also the quality of the candidates.

“We’re looking at everything, from field engineering to entry-level positions,” Allinger said. “I’m really impressed not only with the quality of the job seekers here but also the diversity that we’ve seen.”

Attendees could also participate in several interactive workshops, designed to utilize spirituality as a means to provide guidance and confidence for those looking for employment. Dawn Mitchell, a chief executive advisor with The Corporate Church, said she aimed at showing job hunters how to combat fear through spiritual means.

“It’s a combination of self-confidence and holy confidence,” Mitchell said. “If you let your ego, which is based and rooted in fear, lead your job search versus letting your thoughts line up with what God says you are then you’re going to have a tough time.”

For local job seekers like Kevin Pawlowski, who is seeking to return to the workforce, the event was a convenient way to not only seek out potential job paths but also to network all in one place.

“It’s been great,” Pawlowksi said. “It’s a lot more organized than most job fairs and it appears to have something for everyone.”

Harrison said the key to the event is not only the strong support from recruiters and employers, but the event’s commitment to faith.

“More than anything else, this is a reminder that God is good and He knows what He’s doing,” Harrison said. “He has an amazing, perfect plan for every one of these job seekers here today and it’s all based on Jeremiah 29:11.”

For more information about the Woodlands Church Job Support Ministry, call (281)-367-1900 or email info@JobSupportMinistry.com.